Family Matters
Family Matters is an American sitcom about a middle-class black American family living in Chicago. The series was a spin-off of Perfect Strangers and revolves around the Winslow family. Midway through the first season, the show introduced the Winslows' nerdy neighbor Steve Urkel (played by Jaleel White), who quickly became its breakout characterand eventually a main character. Family Matters aired from September 22, 1989 to September 19, 1997 on ABC, and on CBS from September 19, 1997 to July 17, 1998. With 215 episodes, Family Matters is the second-longest-running U.S. sitcom with a predominantly Black-American cast, surpassed only by The Jeffersons, also a spinoff (of All in the Family) which lasted longer than its parent series. History Family Matters originally focused on the character of Carl Winslow and his family: wife Harriette, son Eddie Winslow , intelligent daughter Laura Winslow , youngest child Judy Winslow (until Season 4), and (later) let his sister-in-law Rachel Crawford and her son, Richie Crawford live in his house. In the series opener, the family had also opened their home to Carl's street-wise mother,Estelle Winslow (usually known as "Mother Winslow"), as well as Harriette's sister, Rachel Crawford, and her son, Richie Crawford, after the death of Rachel's husband prior to the start of the series. The Winslows' nerdy next-door neighbor, Steve Urkel, was introduced midway through the first season and quickly became the focus of the show. The popular sitcom was part of ABC's TGIF from 1989 until 1997, before it became part of the CBS Block Party lineup from 1997 until 1998. Family Matters was produced by Bickley-Warren Productions andMiller-Boyett Productions, in association with Lorimar Television (1989–1993), and laterWarner Bros. Television (1993–1998). As the show progressed, episodes began to center more and more on Urkel (and occasionally his alter-ego, Stefan), and other original characters also played by Jaleel White. Network Change In early 1997, CBS bought Family Matters and Step by Step for $40 million from ABC. ABC then promised to pay Miller-Boyett Productions $1.5 million per episode for a ninth and tenth season of Family Matters. However, tensions had risen between Miller-Boyett Productions and ABC's parent company, Disney. Miller-Boyett thought that they would not be big players on ABC after recently being bought up by Disney. So in turn Miller-Boyett Productions signed in the $40 million offer from CBS for both Family Matters and Step By Step to be renewed for a 22-episode season on CBS. CBS put Family Matters, along with Step By Step as a part of their new Friday line-up they called the "CBS Block Party". They put up the "CBS Block Party" against ABC's TGIF lineup, where the two series previously originated. CBS cancelled Family Matters and Step By Step after one season, along with the rest of the "Block Party" lineup. Cancellation The cast was told to get ready to film a tenth and final season after the ninth one was completed. However, it was later discovered that CBS had the sets for the show demolished. Had the show continued for one more season, several events would have occurred: *Steve and Laura's wedding and honeymoon in Hawaii *The return of Cornelius Eugene Urkel and Myrtle Mae Urkel *3J deciding to return to his biological mom *Stefan merging back into Steve's personality, making him a more mature person *Eddie and Waldo marrying their respective girlfriends *The birth of Stephanie Laurine Urkel Cast Main * Jo Marie Payton made her last appearance in "Deck the Malls" (season 9, episode 11). Judyann Elder assumed the role of Harriette Winslow for the remainder of the season, beginning with "Crazy for You (Part 1)" (season 9, episode 14). * The character was first portrayed by Valerie Jones (Judy Winslow) in the pilot episode ("The Mama Who Came to Dinner"). Jaimee Foxworth assumed the role thereafter. Other Urkel characters Special recurring cast Recurring * Barry Jenner as Lt. Murtaugh (1990–1992) * Sherman Hemesley as Capt. Marion Savage (1994–1995) * Dick O'Neil as Commissioner Geiss (1996–1998) * Brigid Coulter as Jolene Santiago (1990–1991) * Tammy Townsend as Greta McClure (1995–1998) * Shavar Ross as Alex "Weasel" Park (1992–1994) * Ebonie Smith as Penny Peyser (1989–1990) * Patrick Dancy as Ted Curran (1992–1993) * Juan Lamont Pope as Curtis Williams * Kim Valentine as Cassie Lynn Nubbles (1991–1992) * Clyde Kusatsu as Principal Edgar Shimata * Susan Krebs as Ms. Steubun * Tom Poston as Alfred Looney * Ron Orbach as Nick Neidermeyer (1995–1997) * Arnold Johnson as Fletcher Thomas * Randy Joselynn as Rodney Beckett * Danielle Nicolet as Vonda Mahoney * Naya Rivera as Gwendolyn * Larenz Tate as Willie Fuffner Seasons Production notes Family Matters was created by William Bickley and Michael Warren (who also wrote for, and were producers of parent series Perfect Strangers) and developed by Thomas L. Miller and Robert L. Boyett (who also served as producers on Perfect Strangers), all four also served as executive producers of the series. The series was produced by Miller-Boyett Productions, in association with Lorimar Television who co-produced the show until 1993, when Warner Bros. Television absorbed Lorimar (a sister company under the co-ownership of Time Warner). Starting with season three, the series was also produced by Bickley-Warren Productions. The series was filmed in front of a live studio audience; the Lorimar-produced episodes were shot at Lorimar Studios (later Sony Pictures Studios) in Culver City, California, while the Warner Bros.-produced episodes were filmed at Warner Bros. Studios in nearby Burbank. Themed song and opening credits The show's original theme was Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World"; it was scrapped after the fifth episode of season one ("Straight A's"), though it was heard only in the pilot episode in syndicated reruns. The second theme, "As Days Go By," written by Jesse Frederick, Bennett Salvay and Scott Roeme and performed by Frederick, was the theme for the majority of the series until 1995; it was last used in the season seven episode "Fa La La La Laagghh," the only episode during the final three seasons to feature it (this was heard in season one episodes in ABC Family and syndicated airings). A longer version of "As Days Go By" was used during the first three seasons, though in syndicated reruns the short version is heard (in ABC Family airings, the long theme was used for all of the episodes during the first three seasons). DVD Released Warner Home Video has released the first four seasons of Family Matters on DVD in Region 1 while the remaining five seasons were released by the Warner Archive Collection. On February 4, 2014, Warner Home Video released season 4 on DVD, but consumers complained when it was found that the season 4 set contained syndication edits rather than the original broadcast masters. Warner Bros. responded to the complaints, offered a replacement program to receive corrected discs and reissuing the set with corrected broadcast copies on April 4. All episodes are the original broadcast form, except for the episode "Number One With a Bullet", disc 1, episode 6. The entire series is also available for digital download on Amazon.com and the iTunes Store, all but season 6 remastered in both SD and HD. Syndication In September 1993, Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution began distributing Family Matters for broadcast in off-network syndication; most television stations stopped carrying the show by around 2002, though some stations in larger markets such as WTOG in Tampa, Florida continued to air Family Matters until as recently as 2005. In 1995, reruns of the series began airing on TBS Superstation, where it ran until 2003. From 1997 to 2003, reruns of the series aired on WGN America. In 2003, ABC Family picked up the series and aired it for five years until February 29, 2008. From 2004 to 2006, UPN aired the show for 2 years. BET aired reruns briefly in December 2009 and began airing the series on a regular basis on March 1, 2013. MTV2 also began airing reruns on September 7, 2013. The show aired on Nick at Nite from June 29, 2008 to December 31, 2012. ABC Family and Nick at Nite airings cut the tag scenes at the end of all episodes, despite the fact that many episodes during the series have tag scenes during the closing credits. In 2015, the series now airs on a Viacom owned cable network Centric. In Canada, the series also aired on CTV and CBC for reruns. Awards Category:Family Matters